Returning to the Wide Wacky World of OTR.

Thank you for all of your insight and information.

 

UPDATE

PTL rented me a car to drive up for orientation. I arrived today at the Radisson Hotel in West Memphis, AR — it's just a 7-minute drive from the terminal. The hotel is really modern and sleek. Rooms are single occupancy with two beds (one for sleeping, one for all my stuff — no dressers anymore!).

Day 1 of orientation starts tomorrow. I’ll keep y’all posted!

 

I hope you find what you're looking for. As for me, I’ve reached my limit. I’m tired — tired of being expected to be perfect in a world that’s anything but. Tired of being told to suppress my feelings, my dreams, my hopes. Tired of being expected to care — but not too much.

Does any of that make sense to you? Does it hit home the way it does for me?

 

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks.

On June 1st, I arrived at the PTL terminal in West Memphis, AR for orientation. The process was fast-paced and, in my opinion, somewhat disorganized. On the second day, I was informed that my urine test came back diluted and that I would need to submit another sample. I did so on Day 3.

That same day, I received a call from the MRO, Dr. Smith, who told me that my hair follicle test came back positive for methamphetamine. He demanded an explanation. I explained that I take several medications daily and listed them for him. He quickly dismissed that as a possible cause and snidely remarked that no medications could result in a false positive. I mentioned that I had previously taken an appetite suppressant but stopped due to the side effects. He pressed for more details—asking for the name, prescribing doctor, and how long I had taken it.

I spent the remainder of Day 3 and most of Day 4 gathering that information. Late on Day 4—Friday, June 6—I received a follow-up call from the MRO. This time, his tone had changed. He told me he had spoken to my doctor and now believed that the medication I had taken had likely caused a false positive.

On Day 6, I received my trainer assignment. I left West Memphis on Sunday, June 8. Since then, it’s been nonstop. I delivered a load to Laredo, TX on Monday. On Tuesday, I was headed to Muscatine, IA. Thursday, I dropped the load in Muscatine and picked up another in Morris, IL bound for Indianola, MS. From there, we picked up a load in Memphis, TN and dropped it in Murray, KY just last night.

In 4.5 days, I drove nearly 2,800 miles—after not being behind the wheel for over three years.

I am both humbled and proud. Now I’m awaiting my upgrade test and looking forward to getting my own truck.